Final answer:
Biodiversity can be limited by habitat loss, overharvesting, and the introduction of exotic species, with human activities being a significant cause of these threats.
Step-by-step explanation:
Factors Limiting Biodiversity
The three factors that can limit biodiversity are habitat loss, overharvesting, and the introduction of exotic species. Habitat loss can occur through activities such as deforestation and the damming of rivers, which destroys the natural environments necessary for many species to survive. Overharvesting is particularly damaging to aquatic species and involves the excessive taking of wildlife or plant species from their habitats, leading to population decline or even extinction. The introduction of exotic species, frequently a result of increased global mobility and trade, can lead to the extinction of native species as the invasive species outcompete them for resources or introduce diseases to which native organisms have no resistance.
Other limiting factors include light, water availability, nutrient levels, oxygen concentration, temperature, space, predation, and the capacity of an ecosystem to recycle nutrients and waste. Disease and parasites can also regulate a population's health and size. Human activities, such as the use of pesticides and herbicides or toxic pollution, pose additional threats that can decrease biodiversity by altering or destroying the natural environment. Unsustainable resource use, driven by human population growth, inevitably results in habitat degradation, compromises ecosystem services, and thereby limits biodiversity.